The Reds ace simply allowed a square pass from Mamadou Sakho to get away from him, allowing Demba Ba to take possession and run down the Reds goal before slotting under goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

Earlier, Liverpool huffed and puffed, but it was Chelsea which went closest before Ba's effort. Ashley Cole forced Mignolet into an impressive save after spectacular drive before Tomas Kalas, on debut, was left kicking the post in frustration after failing to connect with a free header from a Cesar Azpilicueta corner.

After the break, Liverpool showed more purpose, but found Mark Schwarzer at his best in the Blues goal. The Aussie saved superbly from a Joe Allen volley and denied the Welshman again at the far post.

Gerrard was denied on multiple occasions by Schwarzer, who also saved strongly to parry Luis Suarez's strike late on.

Then Chelsea wrapped up the points in injury time as substitute Fernando Torres found himself clear before setting up Willian for a one-two around Mignolet ahead of the Brazilian tapping into the empty net.

A superb triumph for the master technician Jose Mourinho, who keeps his Chelsea team's title hopes alive despite his shadow selection.